Officials: Roads OK after snow storm

Local officials believed roads were in pretty good shape Friday given the intensity of a winter storm that dumped more than 10 inches of snow in some areas of the county.

Comment

The Leavenworth Times - Leavenworth, KS

Writer

Posted Feb. 23, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Posted Feb. 23, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Local officials believed roads were in pretty good shape Friday given the intensity of a winter storm that dumped more than 10 inches of snow in some areas of the county.

Emergency officials didn’t report any major accidents as a result of Thursday’s storm. Undersheriff Jim Sherley said deputies from the Sheriff’s Office responded to 10 non-injury accidents and multiple cases of vehicles sliding off the road.

Capt. Ben Ontiveros with the Lansing Police Department said a tractor-trailer slid on Kansas 5 Highway, causing a blockage of the roadway. He said a section of the highway was closed in Lansing Thursday afternoon until a wrecker could arrive.

Nine inches of snow had fallen in Leavenworth by 11 a.m. Thursday. Eleven inches of snow had fallen in Tonganoxie by about 7 p.m. Thursday, according to information posted a the website for the National Weather Service’s office in Pleasant Hill, Mo.

“This is pretty significant for us,” Leavenworth County Emergency Management Director Chuck Magaha said of the snow storm.

The snow emergencies declared in Leavenworth and Lansing during the storm have since been lifted.

Ken Miller, public information officer for Lansing, announced Friday that Lansing’s gated parks had been closed as a result of the winter storm. The gated city parks will remain closed through the weekend. City staff will reevaluate the situation Monday.

Area schools were closed for a second day Friday. Fort Leavenworth personnel were under a two-hour delay when reporting to the post Friday.

Leavenworth Public Works Director Mike McDonald said Friday that crews had been working fairly non-stop. He said employees were still working 12-hour shifts.

Friday night, crews were scheduled to pick up snow from the downtown area. He said the snow would be moved to empty lots in the area of Second and Chestnut streets.

Mike Spickelmier, Leavenworth County public works director, said county crews would be shutting down Friday night. But they’ll be back to work today, focusing on widening the clearance on the county’s secondary roads.

John Young, public works director for Lansing, said crews in Lansing essentially were done Friday afternoon.

“We’re in good shape,” he said.

The storm may have passed, but National Weather Service meteorologist Chris Bowman said “no real significant warm-up is expected” this weekend.